Bravado
by boysenberry
Summary: Rose Weasley would never sneak out of Hogwarts on a school night - and dressed as a boy? You must be thinking about Lily. She's the wild one. What could Rose possibly be doing in the Hog's Head at midnight, anyway?


**Disclaimer: JK Rowling's, not mine.**

**Rated M, for those who think Firewhiskey is a metaphor...**

**Reviews always appreciated :)**

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Rose looked critically at her reflection in the dirty mirror behind the wall. This was her moment, wasn't it? A night - well, not quite alone, but unaccompanied by parents or guardians at any rate - in a bar, a seedy, dingy, definitely-not-mainstream bar frequented by shady characters and most likely murderers.

Perverse as she was, she was excited.

"Ready?" Scorpius called from the bed. They hadn't made much effort with their appearance - it wasn't that sort of place - but Scorpius had suggested some subtle alterations to their clothing to help them blend in a bit. He'd also reminded them of their charade. "Remember, I'm the one in charge. You don't speak unless someone specifically tells you to."

"I wasn't going to, anyway, I'd probably be too terrified." Which was true, really. For all her excitement and bravado, she had a feeling her nerve was going to let her down when push came to shove.

(But that was what Firewhiskey was for, wasn't it?)

"Oh, don't give me that. You might be scared shitless now but you're not the type to keep quiet when someone challenges you. Just shut up tonight, okay? I'm the one in charge. I've brought you here for -" here Scorpius blushed - "some suspicious scheme that I probably don't want anyone finding out about."

"A suspicious sexual scheme?" Rose asked, unable to resist the temptation to tease Scorpius. At least one of them was still determined to stay straight-laced...

Scorpius just shook his head at her. "Maybe. You look a lot younger than I do - and why would a man bring a young boy, alone, to a shady place like this?"

"Hey, I'm the same age as you are! And nearly as tall - and if I'd had my way, I would have come here as a girl, anyway."

"If you seriously thought you would get home untouched tonight, as a girl alone, looking like you do -" Scorpius glared at her. "Besides, you quite obviously have barely gone through puberty."

Rose squinted her eyes at him.

He waved his hands. "You know what I mean, for a guy. That puts you at, like, fifteen, max. You don't even have stubble. You're all soft and pudgy -"

"There are fat guys!"

"Okay, put it this way. Remember before, when you asked if I thought you looked like a guy? Well, you do. A twelve-year-old boy."

Rose shrugged.

"Whatever," Scorpius continued. "It's probably safe to go down now, anyway. There'll be enough of a crowd to blend in. One drink, okay?"

"That's what I said five hours ago!"

He looked down at her. "Shush, boy, we're going downstairs now." His eyes turned serious. "Just be quiet, okay, and let them assume whatever they want to assume. It's just a pretence, anyway."

She nodded, and patted his arm. "I promise I'll behave."

Lily wouldn't.

They took their bags. There wasn't a chance in hell they were leaving everything they had in a badly-locked room. It took them a while to get out of the maze of passages - every dusty corridor looks the same, Rose privately thought, but finally they emerged at the reception desk, which was currently occupied by a large witch who was fast asleep on the table. They decided not to disturb her beauty sleep, and tiptoed on to the dining hall.

"I know where I am now," Scorpius whispered to her. They walked through the door and into the dining room, which was even dirtier than the corridors had been, if that were possible. "Now shh, boy." Even though they were whispering, he obviously felt the need to maintain the facade.

Scorpius visibly squared his shoulders - she hoped the other patrons hadn't noticed - and strode to the bar, not looking back to see whether she was following. She was, of course; no way was she separating from Scorpius in this place.

An old crone in the corner glared at her over her mug, and suddenly Rose was actually glad to have Scorpius with her. She'd been an idiot to think she could come here alone. Sure, Scorpius was no Mad-Eye Moody, but he was someone, and she was grateful for the company.

"A Firewhiskey for me," Scorpius was saying, "and a butterbeer for the boy, I think."

The bartender leered. "Might as well start 'em young, I always say. Why not two Firewhiskeys, my friend?"

Scorpius stared him down. "One Firewhiskey. One butterbeer. I'm not paying full price for someone like him."

Grabbing Scorpius by the collar, the bartender pulled him closer, leering over at Rose. "Just between you, me and this rag, butterbeer don't loosen 'em up enough -" here he made a lewd gesture with his hands - "know what I'm sayin'? Firewhiskey'll get 'im nice an' relaxed, if ye take my meaning."

Scorpius slapped two silver coins on the table. "Two Firewhiskeys." The bartender winked, and Rose nearly gagged.

What a disgusting place. A place beyond her every experience. She'd never been anywhere that was even remotely like this. If anything, her family was treated with the utmost respect whenever they entered a restaurant. Being a Weasley did have its benefits, she supposed, but she wished she could have had the opportunity to see the world as it really was. A world that encompassed places like this one.

But it was hardly the Weasley's fault she'd never been in a bar before. Never even tried to sneak into one, in all her seventeen years, and hearing her damned cousin's stage whispers in the common room last night -

Damn her, anyway. She squared her shoulders. This was one frontier she was crossing first.

She didn't say anything, and Scorpius nodded shortly at her as he led her to a table near the old woman she'd noticed before. He sat down first, and she sat down opposite him, in front of the second Firewhiskey glass. Not that you could tell it was glass, with all the dirt and smudges that lined the rim.

"So I'm getting my Firewhiskey after all -" she started, but Scorpius gave her such a look of warning that she quickly shut up. So it was like that, was it? She took a sip of Firewhiskey, and nearly gasped.

"Strong stuff, isn't it?" Scorpius said in a low voice. How come he was allowed to talk? Just because he was supposedly the - what was even the word for it? - the one in charge, whatever, that didn't mean she wasn't allowed to talk at all. "That's why I didn't want to get any for you."

What?! So he could drink Firewhiskey, could he? But she wasn't man enough to drink it? She got to drink butterbeer, like a girl.

You are a girl, the stupid voice in her head told her.

Not really, she shot back. I'm just as much of a guy as he is. And she took a large swig of Firewhiskey to prove it.

Her eyes watered. Damn but that stuff was strong. She could feel it burning down her throat, and the feeling didn't go away. She resisted the urge to scream, and swallowed, determined. Scorpius couldn't tell her what to do.

"Warm stuff, I think," she tried to say, but it wouldn't come out properly. Merlin, was she that much of a lightweight? She'd never been drunk before. She even regulated her consumption of butterbeer, for goodness sake - although the words wouldn't form properly even in her head.

"Regulated - consumption - of - butterbeer," she said clearly, to no-one in particular, and took another swig.

"Come on, boy, that stuff's strong, you've got to take it slowly!"

Scorpius was speaking to her in a sort of haze, she thought. She vaguely wondered why. It couldn't possibly be the alcohol, she was sure, because Albus and James took a lot more than two sips to get tipsy.

"Even Lily - drink slowly," she tried to tell Scorpius, served him right, telling her what to do, she'd show him!

"Lily's been drinking since she was fifteen," Scorpius told her, leaning closer, closer, closer, swirl! His face was shaded and twisted, like one of those oil paintings you saw on the sidewalk, wasn't that right? His face was a sidewalk painting! Never anything so funny! But Sidewalk Scorp wasn't finished talking, oh no, because sidewalks didn't stop, never. She giggled. Sidewalk Scorp frowned. "And all she drinks is butterbeer and spiked punch, anyway. This is a lot more than spiked punch, this is Firewhiskey -"

The crone was watching them, and Rose gave her a little wave.

"Shit, boy, don't do that," someone was saying vaguely in the background, and Rose frowned. She wasn't a boy, was she?

Back to Scorpius! And he looked mad, all swirling and waving around like that, better shrink back, hey? Bit scary watching big crazy mad boy in the corner. She focused her gaze, and he steadied a little. Frown? Don't frown, Scorpius! Don't frown! He looked over at her and his face relaxed. Relaxed! He was a mind reader! He wasn't scary at all! Not scary Sidewalk Scorpius, clever Scorpius!

"Shit," clever Scorpius said clearly, loudly, right in her ear, and she flinched, but it was a good word. Shit.

"Shit," she echoed helpfully, and he put his face in his hands. He pulled her closer, and she swooned a little. Mmm, she always wanted to swoon. Flopped down on the table, what fun!

"Look, boy, I don't think this is just Firewhiskey, I think it's been tampered with -"

Boy! Always with the boy! She wasn't a boy! She looked closely at Scorpius' chest, then at her own. Boys had flat chests, nothing chests, like Sideclever Scorp. Maybe he was a boy - better make sure - better lift up that shirt and touch touch touch -

"What are you doing?" Hiss. She hissed back. Boy. She wasn't a boy, she knew that. Flat nothing chest? No! The linen! Linen! She had bandages on her chest, but she wasn't ill, oh no, but maybe that was why he thought she was a boy! She wasn't a boy! She leapt onto the table.

"Oh no no," she told Scorpius, better warn him huh, he's not supposed to pull her down with that hand that's creeping up the table! He's going to catch her! But she - must - has to show him... She stomped down on the hand and tried to lift off her shirt.

"What the fuck is going on?"

Haze haze haze, not going to listen, not going to listen! "Shirt's not coming off," she announced. "Better try mag - ma - magic! Diffindo!" She pointed her wand expectantly at her chest, but nothing happened. "You've cursed my wand!" she yelled at Scorpius. "I can't do magic!"

Scorpius was waving his head around, looking around for something, was he? She blinked, and his image cleared up a little - but no! no! he was knocking over the FIREWHISKEY! Not the Firewhiskey! She dived forward to save the liquid, but it was too late. Too late! It was all gone, all over the table. A plan sharpened in her mind. It wasn't gone yet. She flattened herself across the table, feeling the Firewhiskey soak into the front of her shirt, and she wriggled around, relishing the sensation. But she needed more of it, more of it in her mouth - her tongue slipped out, and she lapped up the pool of alcohol that was slowly forming on the table.

She was vaguely aware that a crowd was forming around their table, and she wriggled again in satisfaction. The crowd roared in appreciation, and Scorpius groaned and tried to reach for her, but two men behind him kept him securely in his chair. She blew them a kiss in thanks, bringing her knees under her to support her weight as she lifted herself up. But she couldn't - she fell down again! - back into the Firewhiskey. She lapped it up -

- And it was like a shackle falling from her body. She raised her bottom in the air, like one of those monkeys she'd always seen at the zoo, and ground her chest into the table. Wolf-whistles filled the air, and Rose smirked - successful - bet Lily never did that -

One of the men to her right reached over and grabbed her shirt. "Stop it!" Scorpius cried desperately, and she frowned.

"Don't interrupt me," she said carefully, and the men around her cheered. "See? They like me. Even if you don't."

He groaned again, but the man at his left slapped a hand across his mouth. "Listen to the kid," he growled, good man, good man...

She got to her knees carefully, the man to her right still holding her shirt. "Take it off for me," she whispered loudly into his ear. They wanted a show? She'd give them a show! He whipped off her shirt, better than she could have, definitely - and the crowd paused for a moment and she wondered why. Better check what's wrong, she decided, and looked down at herself. Oh. The bandages -

"Boy's a woman!" she heard someone cry, and suddenly the cheers were back, and louder than before. They liked her again, it was okay! it was okay! She leaned forward, tried to undo the ties of the bandages, but the man in front of her was quicker. A knife appeared in his hand, and in one smooth movement the restricting ties were gone, and her breasts tumbled into the eager man's warm, sweating hands.

"Rose!" Scorpius cried out involuntarily -

And suddenly the crone was in front of her, and a breeze blew over her bare chest, and she shivered. The atmosphere in the bar changed - expectant - waiting...

"Rose Weasley," she said tightly, and pulled back her hood. "Something told me I'd find you here."

The voice was ice water, sending a flood of words through Rose's foggy brain as she suddenly realised this had gone way too far, spiked drinks or no spiked drinks. Words like "Prefect" and "responsibility" and "your mother" and "family honour"...

And then an image of Lily flashed into her mind. Maybe she was finally living up to the family reputation, after all.

She grinned. Scorpius groaned.

"Evening, Professor."


End file.
